The Meaning of Psalms 108:7 Explained

Psalms 108:7

KJV: God hath spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

YLT: God hath spoken in His holiness: I exult, I apportion Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I measure,

Darby: God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult, I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

ASV: God hath spoken in his holiness: I will exult; I will divide Shechem, and mete out the valley of Succoth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

God  hath spoken  in his holiness;  I will rejoice,  I will divide  Shechem,  and mete out  the valley  of Succoth. 

What does Psalms 108:7 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalm 108:1-13 - Victorious Through God
Two fragments of Davidic psalms are here joined together with very slight alterations. In Psalms 108:1-5 are from Psalms 57:7-11, and Psalms 108:6-13 from Psalms 60:5-12. We need the fixed heart, ever constant to God, as is the needle to the pole. When we are right with God we go through the world, awakening song and hope in forlorn hearts. Note the themes for constant adoration, Psalms 108:3-5.
Apparently David stood in imagination at the beginning of those conquests which made Israel great and extended her frontiers to the great river Euphrates. He felt that God had spoken in His holiness, and had already given him the territories here enumerated. All that remained for him to do was to occupy and possess what the Almighty had allotted. There is a close analogy here to our appropriation of those heavenly blessings which are ours in the risen Lord. It is not we who can tread down our adversaries. They are too strong and insidious. But when our heart is fixed, God goes before us, vanquishing our foes, and we have but to follow after, gathering in the spoils. In our inner conflicts, vain is human help, even the best. Go before us, Great Shepherd, with thy rod and staff! [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalm 108

1  David encourages himself to praise God
5  He prays for God's assistance according to his promise
11  His confidence in God's help

What do the individual words in Psalms 108:7 mean?

God has spoken in His holiness I will rejoice I will divide Shechem and the Valley of Succoth measure out
אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ דִּבֶּ֥ר בְּקָדְשׁ֗וֹ אֶעְלֹ֥זָה אֲחַלְּקָ֥ה שְׁכֶ֑ם וְעֵ֖מֶק סֻכּ֣וֹת אֲמַדֵּֽד

אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
דִּבֶּ֥ר  has  spoken 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
בְּקָדְשׁ֗וֹ  in  His  holiness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: קֹדֶשׁ  
Sense: apartness, holiness, sacredness, separateness.
אֶעְלֹ֥זָה  I  will  rejoice 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: עָלַז  
Sense: (Qal) to exult, rejoice, triumph.
אֲחַלְּקָ֥ה  I  will  divide 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: חָלַק 
Sense: to divide, share, plunder, allot, apportion, assign.
שְׁכֶ֑ם  Shechem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: שְׁכֶם 
Sense: son of Hamor, the chieftain of the Hivites at Shechem at the time of Jacob’s arrival.
וְעֵ֖מֶק  and  the  Valley 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֵמֶק  
Sense: valley, vale, lowland, open country.
סֻכּ֣וֹת  of  Succoth 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: סֻכֹּות  
Sense: the site where Jacob put up booths for his cattle and built a house for himself; apparently east of the Jordan near the ford of the torrent Jabbok and later allotted to the tribe of Gad.
אֲמַדֵּֽד  measure  out 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular
Root: מָדַד  
Sense: to measure, stretch.